FIG. 1 represents a front view of a prior art configuration of card 10 that includes a detachable payment device 20. The payment device 20 is a contactless payment device which relies on an embedded Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) antenna. The card 10, which is a standard CR80 full size credit/debit shell, is the means preferred by payment device-issuing entities, such as financial institutions, for distributing the payment device 20 to users, i.e., consumers.
The payment device 20 is detachable from the card via score lines 30, otherwise referred to herein as detachment lines. Upon receipt of the card by the user, the user is able to easily detach the payment device 20 from the disposable portion 40 by pulling or tearing at the score lines 30. Once the wireless communication payment device 10 is removed from the card, the disposable portion 40 can be disposed of by the user.
The entities that issue the payment device 20, such as financial institutions or the like, prefer to distribute the device 20 as a detachable portion of the card 10 for various different reasons. First, the payment device 20 typically does not include any user identification indicia. In order to insure that the payment device 20 is associated with the intended user/consumer, the disposable portion 40 of the card 10 includes the requisite user/consumer identifying information, such as name, account number or the like. In addition, since the card resembles a credit or debit card in shape and dimensions, the issuing entity is able to use the same production machinery to emboss the identifying information on the card as is used in the processing of credit and debit cards. Moreover, the payment device 20 is generally small in size and therefore by distributing the payment device 20 as a detachable portion of the card 10, the device-issuing entity insures that the device is not overseen in a mailing and, possibly, inadvertently discarded.
FIG. 2 is a perspective of view of card 10 including a payment device 20, in which the payment 20 takes the form of a sticker that can be affixed to an object in the possession of the user/consumer, such as a mobile device, for example, a cellular telephone or the like. In such embodiments, an adhesive material 50 is disposed on the backside facing of the payment device 20 and an adhesive-protecting backing 60, such as a suitable paper backing or the like, is disposed on the adhesive material 50. The user/consumer removes the adhesive-protecting backing 60 once they are ready to affix the sticker to a chosen object. It should be noted that the adhesive material 50 and the adhesive-protecting backing 60 are limited to being disposed on the backside facing of the payment device 20 and are not disposed on the backside facing of the disposable portion 40 of the card 10.
However, the current configuration of the payment device 20 on the card 10, in combination with the adhesive material 50 and backing 60, pose problems during the production process that embosses the user-identifying indicia on the disposable portion 40 of the card 10. The production process for embossing the user-identifying indicia on the disposable portion 40 of the card 10 occurs after the cards have been manufactured, meaning after the adhesive material 50 and adhesive-protecting backing 60 have been applied to the backside facing of the payment device 20. The production equipment used to emboss the user-identifying indicia provides for handling the cards with a suction-type handling mechanism that attaches to the center region of the card. In instances in which the payment device 20, and specifically the adhesive material 50 and backing 60 are located in the center region of the card 10, the suction-type handling mechanism experiences difficulty lifting the card into the embossing machine because the suction-type mechanism has difficulty forming a clean seal around the adhesive. These production issues result in an overall inefficient embossing process.
Therefore, a need exists to develop a card with a detachable payment device that is not susceptible to production embossing problems. Specifically, the desired card should alleviate or otherwise eliminate production embossing problems associated with the adhesive and adhesive-protecting backing, specifically, elimination of the handling problems associated with the adhesive underlying the area of the card handled by the suction-type mechanism. Moreover, the resulting payment device should be more functionally and aesthetically appealing to objects to which it is attached, such as cellular telephones or the like.